Women imprisoned for drug trafficking in Brazil: The many faces of violence against women

This article discusses how the current "drug war" waged in Brazil intensifies the various forms of violence to which women are subjected in a deeply unequal society.

The current criminal drug policy has been responsible for the significant increase in the incarceration of women in recent years. The criminal justice system operates selectively, focusing on women in situation of social and economic vulnerability.

Poor women are victims of structural violence and gender inequality that puts in a subordinate condition in society, especially in the world of work. With the passage through the prison, they become victims of institutional violence. The suffering in prison is intensified by the condition of the mother, as a woman.

We will use the bibliographical research, theoretical analysis of official data and ethnographic data collected in field research conducted in female Prison Piraquara, in the metropolitan region of Curitiba (Brazil), to support this work.

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